September 07, 2007

SB 622 Amended To Drop Private Right of Action.

SB 622, which I felt would have been the one potentially paradigm-shifting piece of employment law legislation this session, has been significantly amended. The new version of the bill drops the private right of action for independent contractor misclassification.

A spokesperson for the bill's sponsor, Senator Padilla (D-San Fernando), told CLEL this afternoon that the amendment was made in "an attempt to work with the opposition," for whom the private right of action was a huge concern. Senator Padilla's office was hopeful that, with these amendments, the bill would make it through the Legislature, but felt that it was still "highly unlikely" that the Governor would sign the bill, even as amended.

The bill had passed the Senate 23-15 prior to the recent amendments.

Last year, a similar bill, A.B. 2186 (Torrico) , was introduced stating only that it would be "the intent of the Legislature to prohibit deliberate misclassification of employees as independent contractors and to"penalize intentional misclassification." No specifics or enforcement mechanisms were ever set out.

That bill died in committee after the author gutted it. This year, a bill on this topic appears to be headed to the Governor's desk. Take note of this trend, and consider accordingly when dealing with issues of independent contractor classification.